Scientific tests show the tomb in Jerusalem's Old City believed by many Christians to be the burial site of Jesus Christ dates back 1,700 years to A.D. 345, around the same time Romans first identified the place as holy, National Geographic reports.
The test was performed on mortar between the original limestone surface of the tomb, known as the Holy Edicule, and a marble slab built over it with ground-penetrating radar and laser scanning. Conservators from the National Technical University of Athens conducted the tests, and they also looked at radioactive elements in the architectural glue that held the tomb together.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site during the reign of Constantine the Great, has been destroyed, renovated and rebuilt several times over the past 1,700 years. It is a site of pilgrimage for Christians.
But the shrine that covers the tomb is in danger of collapsing, and a team of scientists supported by the National Geographic Society have been conducting conservation work to help restore it.
They opened the tomb in October 2016 for the first time in centuries, and found a limestone shelf or "burial bed" covered in marble cladding. Another marble slab with a cross carved into its surface was found underneath.
"Scientists and archaeologists are very excited about this because, what it does is, it corroborates our historical accounts," National Geographic archaeology writer Kristin Romey told NBC News.
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